I feel as though I’ve been slacking off a lot the last few days. School is getting pretty stressful, and I haven’t been feeling very well either (although today I’m doing a bit better!). But those are pretty lame excuses. So here’s a real post for Vegan MoFo.
As much as I love to cook, I tend to get lazy when I’m cooking for one. I just don’t see the point of spending two hours in the kitchen when I’m tired when I can just whip up something simple. However, I love to cook and serve vegan food to other people. I had a friend over for dinner last night (which is sort of becoming a Thursday ritual, and I couldn’t be happier!), and decided to try to make a meal that was even better than the one last week.
A couple holidays ago, I didn’t feel like spending the money and time to make my usual Tofurky, and armed with my new copy of Veganomicon, I decided to change things up a little. I made the Portobello salad with spicy mustard dressing, and remembered how great it was. So I made it again last night since my guest really likes mushrooms, and it was even better than I remember. I think when I made it the first time I might have used too much maple syrup in the dressing, because I recall a very maple-y flavor. I also made black beans and sweet potatoes, based on the enchilada recipe from Vegan Planet. I added some chopped cilantro, an extra 2 tbs chili powder, and some cayenne powder, and it was incredibly delicious.
For dessert I made oatmeal raisin cookies, which came from Vegan YumYum. I went with that recipe over the one in Veganomicon for two reasons: First, it was cheaper to make the VeganYumYum recipe, and second, I’d read great things about the recipe. Comments on a post, or other bloggers, are a foolproof way to find out if a recipe is worth bothering with or not. They turned out crunchy on the outside and chewy inside – just the way I like my cookies.
Here are the pictures from dinner last night:
And about this post’s title: I really do nibble as I cook. I just can’t resist. I read an article once when I was trying to lose weight a while back that suggested not doing such a thing – you end up eat much more than you realize and putting on weight. However, I really don’t think I could cook without tasting along the way – how else are you going to know how to adjust the seasonings??
Ahimsa 
October 9, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I LOVE that portobello mushroom with mustard dressing. It is soooo yummy. That sweet potato and black beans looks so perrty.
NOM!
October 9, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Yum!! I have to try both of these recipes. I’m a nibbler too..it’s a necessity when cooking especially savory stuff for me..that way if I don’t like the way it tastes, I can adjust instead of waiting until it’s on my dinner plate!
October 11, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Damn that makes me hungry!